Mei-ling Hom

The eyes on this 492' by 5' vinyl banner are photographs of people from the Chinatown community. According to Mei-ling Hom, Chinatown Eyes "creates a symbolic wall of Chinatown eyes looking out onto this historic locus of Asian settlement in Philadelphia, while asserting Chinatown's place in the future of Philadelphia's cultural vitality."

Interview

Please explain the process you used for creating your piece (materials used, major steps).

I'm doing a large wall banner for the rowhouse at 10th and Vine Street. It's the future site of the Chinatown Cultural Center. It's my understanding that the Asian Arts Initiative will have a place there. The banner is a wall of eyes, and these eyes are the eyes of Chinatown guardians, people who live and work in Chinatown and are really invested in the future of Chinatown. They assert their place and bear witness to what happens to Chinatown.

We're setting up appointments and photographing eyes of the people in the community. These photos will be brought into a Photoshop document to make a huge wall of eyes looking out to the community, very visible from the Vine Street Expressway. As you drive into Philadelphia you will be greeted by a signature wall of eyes marking the Chinatown community.

How did you come up with the concept for your piece?
a. How did the retreats help you develop your concept?
b. How did seeing Chinatown and talking to Chinatown residents affect your concept for the piece?

I was going to do an installation in the rowhose but then the space not available. I still wanted to work with the rowhouse as a physical marker for the Cultural Center for Chinatown so I decided to use the outside of the building. I knew that what I put there had to be something emblematic of the people and of their wishes for what they want in the future.

The retreats pointed out to me that the Asian Arts Initiative was invested in making Chinatown In/flux an important national exhibit to put the Initiative and Chinatown on the national map.

How does your piece fit with the goals for In/flux?

It's exactly about Chinatown influx. It's about change and looking at the future with optimism. This piece really embodies all those people who want to make those positive changes for Chinatown.

Why did your choose to be part of an exhibit in Chinatown?

All of my installations have been culturally based since 1989 or so, and it's a way for me to make that connection with my own heritage. I believe in raising cultural issues to think about what it means to be Chinese in America or American of Chinese descent and how that cultural niche becomes a part of the wider mainstream culture.